1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for manufacturing rubber stamps that forms images by engraving a rubber material while the rubber is being cooled, a method of manufacturing thereof, and a rubber stamp body used therefor.
2. Background Art
The following processes have been employed conventionally in manufacturing rubber stamps.
First, letter artwork for a rubber stamp is made using a photo-composing machine in a dark room; the letter artwork is affixed on a wood block for the rubber stamp in order that proofreading may be performed, and then the image of the letter artwork is recorded on a letterpress printing film using a process camera. Next, using this letterpress printing film, a letterpress resin is exposed and developed to produce a relief, the relief being used to make a mother die using a press machine. Then, the rubber stamp body is heated and softened, press-formed using the mother die, and fixed on the wood block to complete the rubber stamp.
However, this method requires complex processes and a great number of pieces of equipment and numerous facilities, resulting in high manufacturing cost and low productivity. Product delivery may take up to 10 to 15 days after the customer's order is received, making it impossible to meet rush orders. The method also requires professional technicians because the process requires the technique of photo-composing and letterpress production.
When a stamp body made of hard materials is used, automatic engraving is attempted on some parts using a rotating cutter in place of conventional manual engraving. However, engraving rubber materials using such automatic engraving equipment has not been done industrially. The inventors of the present invention attempted engraving rubber materials using automatic engraving equipment of this kind, but the effort ended in vain with no clear stamp images obtained: the rubber material was deformed due to its elasticity when the rotating cutter was used on the rubber material.